One local vet uses his powers of research and knowledge of sources to keep up with the latest news and legislation at the Veteran's Administration. He also helps others vets get information that might be hard to find. As a member of both the Americans Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, he covers all bases on both fronts of post-service.

Jimmy Brantley, a veteran and veterans advocate, gets his information straight from the horses mouth – the Veteran's Administration. He said by phone Friday that he likes to get right at the heart and source of information about veterans, for his own knowledge and to help others.

Brantley said he visits the VA website regularly to see what the latest news is and what might be coming down the pike. Through his research and sources he said he knows what new piece of legislation is being written or thought of that may effect veterans in the future.

Brantley said there is sure to be a flood of new veterans coming and already aground with the closing of both the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, two of the longest wars in American history.

This new crop of veterans and their claims for medical service are clogging an unprepared Veterans Administration system. With the war in Afghanistan scheduled to officially end and troops pulled out soon, more veterans will only add to the backlog of claims.

The newest concern, Brantley said, is that the new veterans will start clogging clinics and medical facilities, too. The actual paper claims to the VA have collapsed floors of some of the storage buildings the documents are being stored at.

The Department of Defense announced Friday the VA claims backlog has been cut by 34 percent since peaking in March, or down from 611,000 to 400,835 backlogged claims.

Brantley has kept abreast on the Obama Administration's latest and greatest solutions to the backlog, such as a plan to have the backlog taken care of by 2015.

“From the veterans and other people I've talked to, it’s probably not going to happen,” Brantley said of the VA's backlog being fixed by 2015.

He said he has been following a development, more at an idea, of re-vamping the entire VA system to allow for more efficiency. But these are concepts he is just following.

Brantley also gets information from contacts and sources at the Bakersfield VA office. He said he has admiration for Ben Rodriguez at the Bakersfield VA. Brantley said Rodriguez doesn't “hymn and haw” but gets to business. Rodriguez knows when a case needs a attention and how to give it the attention it deserves, Brantley said.

Brantley said as a member of both the American Legion and the VFW he gets news from both sources. He said there can be information about veteran's services from American Legion sources.

Page 2 of 2 - Brantley has made plenty of contacts and ways of finding out where information is from his three years as Service Officer at the local VFW, Ship 4084.

He knows senior members of the VFW at the national level. Brantley knows guys who visit with Congressman Kevin McCarthy, for example, and gets the latest news from those sources.

Brantley has earned his power of research and his list of contacts from research he did for himself after struggling with the VA for 14 years over claims. Brantley spent 13 years in Navy Aviation before being discharged.

Brantley said he likes to chew the fat with his buddies at the VFW over coffee or a drink.

A source like Brantley would be hard for new vets to find if not for the VFW.